This invention relates to a gaming layout having jackpot areas and more particularly to a gaming layout arrangement which permits conventional games employing dice or other well known forms of markers to be played in a traditional manner while introducing a jackpot concept thereto.
The magical allure of being able to "Hit The Jackpot" has always held special fascination for the populous as a whole. This fascination has been employed by government to impose painless taxes in the form of lotteries and by legalized gambling establishments to attract clientele from their competitors by providing special gaming devices such as slot machines with the capability of providing a win which is disproportionately large with respect to the amount ventured.
The same allure is employed by sales organizations to develop consumer interest by providing sweepstakes, or lottery prizes. Here entry in the sweepstakes or lottery is relied upon to attract those solicited to the products, such as magazines, being offered for sale. Typically, an extremely large payoff or jackpot is available at no charge but instead the mere possibility of the jackpot is relied upon as a lodestone to attract consumer interest.
In states such as Nevada and New Jersey having legalized gambling, competition among casinos and the like in attracting clientele to gaming establishments has always been quite fierce. Such competition has generally proceeded in terms of the magnificence of the establishment, incentives provided to patrons and to a limited extent jackpots made available through specialized gaming devices such as slot machines. However, the ability to compete in terms of the magnificence of the establishment and incentives provided to patrons quickly becomes saturated due to practical considerations.
Jackpots provided on specialized gaming devices do not present a continued attraction to a patron. This occurs since regular patrons of such establishments will generally not continue to be attracted to a gaming device whose sole ability is to provide a jackpot since the odds associated therewith are inordinately high and these devices do not otherwise provide patron satisfaction.
Heretofore, the ability to inject the aura of a jackpot into conventional gaming equipment has been highly limited. This has resulted since conventional gaming arrangements cannot be provided with the possibility of winning a jackpot without a major modification of the game arrangement and in fact a changing of the way or rules by which the game is played. In addition, only traditional forms of gaming have wide appeal to patrons. Jackpot arrangements which occur as a result of conditions which do not involve the patron have always been somewhat suspect.
Therefore it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a gaming layout arrangement having jackpot areas which permit a traditional game to be played in the normal manner while providing the availability of jackpots.
A further object of this invention is to provide gaming layout arrangements having jackpot areas wherein the magnitude and probability of obtaining a jackpot may be varied at will without any effect on the game associated therewith or the manner in which the same is played.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide techniques for injecting jackpot considerations into board games wherein dice are thrown in the normal manner of conducting the game.
A further object is to provide a gaming layout having a simple means for resolving player disputes.
Various other objects and advantages of the present invention will become clear from the following detailed description of an exemplary embodiment thereof and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in conjunction with the claims appended hereto.